Well, that had been... brief. The woman had appeared to her, radiant in her beauty like a ray of sunlight piercing the clouds that always hung over the city until much like that ray of light she was suddenly swallowed up by the Aristeia! athlete known as Titanomachia. But what did it mean that there [i]was[/i] a woman there to begin with? She was beautiful. Why did Madeleine think that? The best and smartest thing that she could do would be to unthink it, and quickly. There were too many Machias inside her head to begin with: There was the one she first met who mistook her for a fan and threw an autograph at her in the form of an oddly overdesigned paper airplane. There was the one who brought Madeleine to her lab not even knowing that [i]she[/i] was an Aristeia! athlete in her own right just because she was so fascinated by the idea of horse ears that couldn't hear anything that she had to tinker with them. There was the one that believed in Madeleine for whatever insane reason and told her after the worst match of her life that she was going to be great. There was the blushing version with cake frosting on her lips. There was the quiet, intense one that couldn't perceive the world because her eyes were glued to a screen. There was the one who thought the Pain Glove was a good idea. And now there was this beautiful, soft, vulnerable creature who... No. It did no good to imagine any Machias but the one she was dealing with here. This absurd cartoon character that talked about bondage and binding and being in control like she wasn't tying elaborate, showy knots in a gimmicky position to turn her science project into an art project that... she [i]had[/i] to understand how ridiculous this was, right? Did she understand how voluntary it had to be? Like yes, if Madeleine fought her off she [i]could[/i] turn that monstrous strength on her and force her to the ground, but that would mean nothing and do nothing. Madeleine could writhe under her grip and Machia would have to compromise on her ropes, and that would prove anything. She couldn't be locked in some silly prayer position without letting it happen, and letting it happen for such a comical length of time that it undermined the whole premise behind the ordeal. Yes, that Machia was the easiest to shrug off. The one she simply endured because she was irritatingly good at producing better results in Madeleine even though she had to go out in her own time to find a gym and test it all herself because Machia was waiting for... well who even knew what before she was interested in data collection. She really would have thought... Oh, but those eyes, though. There was a soul inside those magenta pools after all. When the intensity finally drained out of them and they turned to liquid, it was more enchanting than Madeleine could have ever guessed. It even made the usual sheen they had more alluring, knowing that it was not some permanently affixed state she could never let drop. Her weakness made her strength shine brighter. And what would those eyes look like with a smile? Or with gently parting lips and a hitched breath and-- No. No no no no, no! Madeleine did [i]not[/i] have a crush on Machia. It was impossible to think of the woman in that way. She was a cretin and a creep and a jerk who she happened to owe a debt to. She was a tool that could be used to pursue her own goals in the Hexadrome (which had [i]nothing[/i] to do with bondage sessions, thank you VERY mu-- wait, what was that about Lios? She was into that? Like, actually actually? Wait then the whole Taowu thing was fine! It wouldn't be) damn it focus Madeleine. No more lending credence to the facade. If nothing useful was going to happen today then it was time to go home. Maybe by taking her ball and leaving she'd finally make Machia realize that-- Madeleine moves as if to stand up. She finds that she cannot. Ropes pull at her from above, below, and in the middle. She blinks, stupefied. Wait, but how? How could she have finished this so quickly? Did she have a mannequin she'd been practicing on instead of sleeping or something? After all, it had only been... She glances at the clock. She blushes. It has been a full seventeen minutes since Machia pulled that rope free. Congratulations, Madeleine. You are now the subject of another weird experiment. She frowns. "You are... l-lucky I am so patient. Any other trainee would have broken your nose and stormed out," she manages to tilt her head up haughtily in spite of the situation she finds herself in, "I'm the only one who'd debase herself like this. And I... I e-expect to, to be rewarded for my loyalty. I am not cooking tonight. I hope I don't need to make m-m-myself... clearer than that." Madeleine squirms against the restraints. She pulls down on her arms, thrashes her hips, strains her thighs, swishes her tail and her ears, stretches her fingers and her toes, even. There has to be an improperly tied knot in here somewhere, if she can just, nnnnf, [i]find it![/i] Or at the very least she'll know her absolute range of motion. Might as well try to treat this like training. If she can. Her eyes burn with determination. She will not lose. She will not lose. She will [i]not[/i] lose. Not to her. "...Well? This is not it, is it? Where is the remote [i]this[/i] time? Does it electrify the ropes? Or no, I bet it spits a highly specialized, clothing destroying acid. Or is it bees? Are the ropes secretly full of bees? Am I about to be enveloped in a swarm of angry, electrified bees? I am, aren't I? Every stunt you pull makes my price go higher, you realize. You're going to owe me a new coat soon."